Gurgaon: Residents of around 50 villages from the districts of Palwal, Nuh and Gurgaon have demanded a cloverleaf interchange to connect the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway with the Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway at a cross-section of Sohna and Palwal. About 3 lakh people who reside in these villages located along the stretch will benefit from the interchange, they say.
The 1,290km Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, being built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will have two starting points for commuters — one on DND flyover in Delhi and another near Alipur in Sohna. The interchange, if built at a cross-section of Sohna and Palwal, will not only cut the commuting time of villagers to their workplaces but also give local farmers quick access to markets of Delhi and Noida.
“This will help them reap the benefits of the three newly passed farm laws by reducing transportation cost and time to the markets. It will also help students of the villages gain access to the best education facilities in Delhi,” said Prem Mohan Gaur, a resident of Hazipur village.
Residents say the cloverleaf link would also usher in development in these 50 villages, including Hazipur, Silani, Kiranj, Khuntpur and Chandpur, along the Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. “As per the recently approved Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor, a railway station would be built in Silani. This station, along with the interchange (If approved), will be an icing on the cake for the villages,” said Vivek Kumar.
The sarpanchs of 14 of these villages have threatened to go on a protest if the government or NHAI fails to fulfil their demand.
“We have already raised our demand for a cloverleaf interchange with the Union government. Still it has not been approved by NHAI. We have given land for construction of the expressway and we’re being deprived a share of the upcoming development,” said Khuntpuri sarpanch Baladevi.
Sarpanch Kiran Yadav of Chandarpur village, said,
“We have to travel two hours to get on the Expressway. It is being constructed at a 20ft height and there is no way that we can get to the road without the interchange. We have submitted our demands to the Haryana government as well, apart from the Union road transport & highways ministry.”
When contacted, a senior NHAI official said, “There is no scope for an interchange given the length of the stretch between Sohna and DND flyover is 24km. The option of an interchange can only be given if the length of the road is between 25km and 30 km.”